Run
by HowAmISupposedToChoose
Summary: One shot of Gordon and Alyx run from the Combine Based off the song Run by Daughter


The air felt thick as the smell of fresh blood lingers on the clothes, evidence of what ended minutes before. Nothing dared to make a sound at the moment and the weight lay heavily upon the two's shoulders. How long had it been since they had a moments rest? The hopeful and ignorant prayers ran through their veins, making them stronger than they should be and keeping them going.

A pair of old green eyes glanced back at the other, the ones that have seen so much. He had seen the world before it came crashing down. He wasn't supposed to have been in the center of a resonance cascade, he shouldn't have had to have all the lives of an entire facility depending on him. He had seen so much in those eyes of his, so many lives lost either by his hand or because he wasn't able to fulfill his duty to protect them. He was here now, going against a enemy and now with a bigger weight on his shoulders.

Her eyes met his and a silent agreement was understood. Their bodies protesting in hustling forward again to meet another obstacle to overcome. She looked back out into the distance, the streets were destroyed, the bodies of both aliens and humans littered the streets. They should be good now, and it was something that drug up her spine. Staying in the streets at night would be a task, on normal terms, one would be able to find a place to barricade themselves in to provide protection for a night's sleep, but now there was only the open street to use tonight.

She dragged the back of her hand across her forehead, more likely smearing it with the dirt that littered her body than getting rid of the source of irritation and she fixed the headband which protects her eyes from getting distracted. She looked back at the doctor, Gordon Freeman, who had instantaneously become the new face of their resistance as his prior experience was one that no one else could have done.

As soon as the agreement was reached, his legs provided so much protest that he nearly just let his legs collapse as he sat down. Forcing his eyes to stay open, he brought out each weapon one by one to reload and have them ready for the next encounter which could occur at any moment. Gordon had learned these weapons and made sure that they were well taken care of because they could be the thing that prevents a bullet from ending him. The ammo was little to none. Fixing the dirty glasses that seemed to slide down his nose from the persistent hard work he had done, he released a deep breath of air. The air seemed to be suffocating him after he gained the knowledge that his night fight will be short with his side having no ammo. He closed his eyes for a second to think and as quickly as that happened, his slipped away as he fell into a sleep that he deserved after the long hours he spent using every drop of energy he could grasp.

As she looked at him, she saw that he was fast asleep. Alyx couldn't help to send a sad smile his way. She had heard many stories of this man from her father who had worked with him. She heard stories of this hero from before he had become the man she knew of today. Dr. Gordon Freeman, he was a regular person and even back then he apparently didn't have much to say. That day he came in like a normal person, he must not have had to care about much back then, and he even came in late. He would probably never have to worry about something insignificant as that ever again. Now, he can kill without hesitance, and looking at him now, he was pretty banged up. His Hazardous Environmental Suit protected him from so much, the metal protecting him was littered with dents and showed serious signs of wear. He would've been hit much long ago without the protection of it.

While Alyx was looking at him, Gordon wasn't there with her, he was all alone. The Black Mesa facility, where it all started. There, he didn't remember anything of what happened, he was just an employee. The security guard greeted him, as he walked in and when he walked in he was greeted in a different way. His body froze to the spot as the scene was presented itself to him. Dark red liquid lined the floors and were splattered on the walls and the source was before him. Friends and foes were spread across the floor and he saw their lifeless eyes that appeared to stare right at him, and it all hit him.

Alyx noticed as he appeared to twitch, both his eyelids and hands seemed to tense and relax constantly now. She accidentally whispered his name as she felt sympathy for this man before her. She was supposed to be on guard but she allowed herself to rest her body as she sat next to him and gently laid her head against his arm. His hand twitched again and she laced her fingers with his gloved ones.

There wasn't anything to do, the door behind him was shut and there was no other way out as they were surrounded by walls. It was just him and the lifeless bodies on the floor which were there because of him. But he wasn't supposed to be there, there was no Black Mesa anymore. It all went black though when a hand grabbed his foot and he was yanked to the ground. When his eyes opened again, instead he saw himself standing in the distance. The combine troops were approaching the other him as he was quickly and nervously reloaded his weapons. His current self found himself unable to move his body, he looked around for anything that might help him. Looking at the floor he found a bloodied Alyx laying there. She determined as ever tried to get up as her arms repeatedly gave out from her. He wanted to tell her to lay down, don't move, but all he could do was watch. Gunshots yanked his attention back up as the combine attempted to shoot him down. He was shooting but as he watched he noticed he was running out of ammo fast. Guns clanking down on the cold cement one after another as they were useless to him at that point if he had no ammo. As the combine went down, just as many more appeared to be surrounding him. He watched as he saw himself grow weak, barely keeping his balance until he saw a bullet shot right through his own head. Although it wasn't his self that got shot, he couldn't breathe and he saw his body crash to floor. Another shot next to him made his ears hurt, and he looked over to see a Combine soldier standing over Alyx with a gun, she was now lifeless as he was.

Alyx nearly jumped as Gordon seamlessly gripped her hand with great force and took in a big gasp. His eyes quickly darted around and quickly tried to stand up, a reaction to the overload of emotions that he had absorbed. He quickly froze as his name was called and he saw her eyes and felt his hand gripping hers. Her face showed she was worried as was nearly yanked up by Gordon's sudden took a moment to become grounded again, his eyes cleared and he lowered himself back to the chilled ground.

"Hey," she spoke softly to him squeezing his hand, "we are going to be okay." She didn't know what he dreamt up in his mind that was closed to anyone else but him, but she had seen him before when they were out overnight. Everyone would be asleep and he would sit there heavy lidded, yet every time his rigid frame would relax, he would quickly retreat from that state and would focus his attention on something. She had wondered how much sleep he had gotten since he got here. He had time to take time to sleep here and there, but he refused it. She had seen him once or twice when his body seemed to be so at peace as he was not currently in this damaged world. His brow that seemed to be set in a permanent inward position were raised and she could see another side of him. She figured this must have been the scientist that worked at Black Mesa. With his determined and threatening eyes shut and a neutral expression present, his face seemed to not be as masculine as a one would think for the face of a resistance. His hair, as her father said, used to have been brought back in a small ponytail. Looking like this, she could see him wearing it. But usually after a couple of minutes his calm posture would tense back to life as if he wasn't allowed to rest at a time like this.

In a normal run, Gordon would not allow himself to act so defeated, but this wasn't a normal run. It was sunrise when they started running today with the Combine always on their trail. They had no choice but to keep running as they didn't have time to stop to catch a breath. Missing out on sleep the night before made the mission that much harder to keep up and keep moving. But now, they were both nervous for what would happen next. Gordon savored the warmth of her hand against his raw gloved hand that had only been acquainted to the cold hard guns that challenged his hands to stay still. He enjoyed the simple contact, one that was supposed to be a sign of comfort, and had worked to help the scientist's nerves. He had briefly wondered if the gesture meant something more than that, but there was no such time to be thinking of such miniscule problems with the real problem at hand.

The road littered with bodies reminded the duo of all the lives they have lost along the way. Other resistance members had tried to help them on their journey but were quickly picked off one by one by the faceless soldiers that fueled their energy to keep fighting. There sacrifice was not in vain though, their work assisted the two in their battle that should've killed both of them long ago. Both had a fleeting thought that if what they were doing was worth all of the lives that were lost in the fights, but they knew it was but had no time to mourn for the death that happened all around them.

The sound of their breathing and faint determined hearts were quickly nothing compared to the sound in the distance. The couple were quickly on their feet as soon as they heard the sound.

The Combine

Thunderous sounds of footsteps could be heard in the distance, and it was time to move. A sweeping look over their weapons showed they were in no fit to face the soldiers quickly approaching. A look between the town told them they had to start going. They were coming.

"In front!" The former scientists voice came out rough and Alyx quickly obliged as they started to run. The suit Gordon had on would be hopefully be able to protect him from coming into direct contact with a bullet and with Alyx in front of him, she had less of a chance with getting hit.

Their feet made little sound compared to the ones in the distance, they seemed louder than normal and neither knew if they had more numbers or if it was a big contrast with quiet they had quickly became used to when they had a moments rest. Their adrenaline was able to keep them on their feet and to help disregard the tiredness that had been plaguing them.

The houses seemed to flash by as they made many turns in the roads trying to find a place to hopefully hide themselves and allow the soldiers to pass. A couple of headcrabs and zombies wandered around the future path, but they weren't able to stop with as little ammo they had. With no choice, they kept their heads forward and kept running. Slowing down a bit to peer around the next corner, another road almost identical to the last came in their path.

"Gordan, look!" She shouted back at him before she started running again. They both rushed to the open door. They could hide out in there before the Combine came, who seemed to be a bit farther than when they first heard them. Stepping inside, they both carefully searched the abandoned building for any signs of life, Gordan gripping his beloved crowbar and Alyx who had a couple bullets left for her pistol. After the house was searched and came up clean, they both rested again in the kitchen where three chairs rested around a table.

The pounding of footsteps raced past the front of the house, unknown to them that the people they were looking for were hidden and now behind them. The silence then followed, assuring them that they had kept going. Waiting a couple of minutes just in case of a soldier possibly still sticking around the area, Alyx finally spoke up.

"I think we should get moving" she said as she moved a curtain slightly to check. He grunted softly in acknowledgment to her statement as he waited by the door, but hidden from the outside. His hand slid over his metallic suit feeling all of the new ridges provided from the many encounters within the past couple days. He had fought many soldiers back at Black Mesa after the incident, the Combine here seem to be endless and there was something haunting about them. It could be that no face was seen by him, the white mask covering anything within showing nothing about their thoughts. He had been used to reading into facial expression, not being much of a talker himself, but he took in information. With these new soldiers, he was unable to tell anything they were thinking, if they were nervous, angry, or hurt. All of them looked exactly the same, no one would know the difference between them

The female companion located an alleyway across the road, it might be a good idea to check it out for supplies or secret areas. Approaching Gordon who appeared to be ready for an attack with his back pressed up against the wall and pistol in hand, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else. His brows pushed down and his eyes seemed to be focused on something not quite here. She thought she should let him have this thought but decided against it as they were running out of options and had to keep moving.

"Hey Gordon," she whispered to him and he quickly turned his head to the noise "you ready?" she said with a half smile seeing he was coming back to reality. He changed his position to one ready to head out the door and a brief nod was directed to her.

He slowly turned the handle, both ready for anything that could be out there. The door creaked quietly as it was opened to allow for a body to start emerging. The former doctor checked both directions, the street appeared to be empty and he saw the alleyway across the street. He nodded again, a sign that the road was clear. At least hopefully clear from the Combine. The door opened all the way as the two bodies made a mad dash to the other side of the road. If a soldier would see them, they could be as good as dead, with what little ammo they had reinforcements could be on top of them in an instant. As they both ran, they just hoped they would both make it out of there. As they both ducked out of sight in the alley, a wave of relief was there, but it didn't last long as they knew they had a long journey ahead of them.

Walking down the alley, they found that it was surprising shorter than they expected with no direct way to another location in which to escape to. The narrow path contained garbage or sorts scattered across the ground and posters littering the sides of the previously used apartments. Now the buildings sit useless after they were cleared, and who knows what happened to its inhabitants.

Alyx lingered near the end of the alley, she glanced around at the unfamiliar area keeping her eyes out for anything that would help them on their journey. Gordon on the other hand was ready to move forward as he found a fire escape above the trash bin. He gripped the metal surface and was able to pull himself making little sound as he got up, but even the little noises the metal and his suit made tapping each other drew Alyx's attention as she crept over to the noise. He glanced over at Alyx acknowledging her as she looked up at him with an odd expression and crossed her arms at him.

"Jeez Gordon, were you just going to leave me here?" She spoke softly not to attract attention and snorted a bit at the end and he saw her expression ease up a little as her mouth curved up slightly. She quickly though fell back at pace as her expression then hardened and she swiftly brought herself up onto the dumpster after him.

Once both were up the escape, they crouched silently listening for any sounds coming inside the window. The face of the resistance brought out the crowbar that he had acquired again, even after the twenty or so years that he had missed out on, he still managed to find the one that had helped him through so much. The paint which was once solid was now chipped and dirtied with years of wear and tear. It was kind of unsettling how the crowbar which served as a defense and killed so much brought comfort to him. But it was his protection in this new world he had been thrust into both times, and it had helped him through it.

Gripping the bar, he tried to break the window as quietly as possible, but it was inevitable with the glass shattering and crashing to the ground. He quickly brought his back to the wall just in case there was Combine soldier left inside. Silently taking out his pistol he was readily awaiting for what lay inside ready for them, and after a nod, they stepped through the window. The crunching of the glass was the only thing heard as they entered the room. Both gripped their weapons ready for anysense of movement found in the unexplored area.

After they both did a quick sweep of the floor they both found the house to be as desolate as it seemed. Following Alyx, he saw that she found a monitor that was still in tact. She skillfully hacked the screen so it was able to give communication to White Forest. With the sudden noise of the screen coming to life, she nervously waited to see if the the connection was going to work. The screen soon cleared and revealed a couple of people with their backs turned, but Alyx jumped right in.

"Hey, it's Alyx!" She called softly, but loud enough to grab the attention of those across the screen. One quickly turned but Alyx interrupted what he was going to say, "Is Eli there? I need to talk to him?" Although the situation was pretty grim, he had to give props to Alyx, she didn't act too scared for the camera, but he could tell she really wanted to get to the point. Within moments of one of them leaving the screen, Eli turned up.

"Alyx, baby. Where are you? We've been worried sick." His acting was not as good as Alyx's, obviously rushing to get there, he was out of breath and his brows were knit in concern. Even though the world was ending, she had been gone a while when the combine was on high alert, it was cause for concern. Alyx teetered on her decision, maybe it would be better if he didn't know, just one more talk would be nice.

"Hey dad, we're okay. I got Gordon here, remember?" Alyx even managed a little laugh within there and Eli's face softened a bit. "We are on our way, just called to let you know." Gordon could tell that Alyx wanted to stay on the call, but her tapping fingers indicated that she still needed to be quiet and be ready to move.

"Listen, I got to go now. But I love you dad." as if she would never get to say those words again. The situation was suddenly so real, and it wasn't supposed to be. It was Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance, both were strong and handled themselves well, it wasn't supposed to end up like this. Eli said his goodbye and the call was ended and the silence began. This time the silence was almost suffocating, more weight laid on their shoulders with the truth that they were beginning to accept. Neither body moved but the tears that silently ran down Alyx's face.

Moving from where he was standing, the former physicist wrapped his arms around her, she wasn't supposed to be sad, she didn't deserve that. It stung that all he could do is be there for her. Alyx returned the hug as she laid her head on his cold metal suit tears as she tried to get a hold on herself. It was hard at this point, the duo had been trying for days trying to escape the area, which seemed nearly impossible at this point. Both felt like that there was no end and it ate at them both physically and mentally. Thoughts briefly going to Gordon, he didn't really have anyone, at least from what she had gathered about him, his family is probably long gone. He didn't have to worry about anyone. How lucky.

With one last sniffle, Alyx withdrew and allowed the cold to again embrace her. Wiping her eyes she locked onto Gordon who was also readjusting to the loss of contact. Reaching out, he put his hand on her arm, a little reassurance for what was coming next. It was hard to ignore the contact that they received, both wanting to stay like that forever, both needing it at a time like this. But there was no time. What they lacked in intimacy right now, they gained in motivation. They were protectors of each other, each had the other in mind in every decision they made. They were more than just two resistance members, they full heartedly were there for each other, ready to do anything for the other.

A quiet patter of noise was all it took to get the attention of them and both visibly tensed. Quickly as they heard it, they were silently moving out the way they came. Keeping signs out for any others around as they ran towards anything else that could provide cover.

They weren't quick enough because they heard the familiar sound of gunfire behind them as they ran. Finding the closest alleyway they tried to sneak in there so they could at least finish off the lone warrior. The cold greeted their backs as they leaned against the wall so they could catch their breath.

"Gordon." a meek voice spoke, something was off. Quickly looking at her he felt the loudest silence he ever. She looked at him visibly paler and hand slightly shaking. Looking down, all he saw was blood. He had seen it before, many times, but none of those times was it _so_ red. It was almost blinding and he looked down at her now red hoodie. This wasn't supposed to happen to her, not to Alyx. Not the girl who fought beside him and never got hurt. Barely registering his body moving his hands were on her just trying to do something. They ran out of health packs long ago, this was up to them to stop. He saw in movies, pressure. There was no long fabric though. He quickly removed her jacket and tied it around the wound. He didn't know if it would work, he didn't know what to do.

A noise was barely registered, but instinctively his hand grabbed his gun and shot in the direction the footsteps could be heard from and the soldier fell to the ground. None of this felt real, at this point he was just running on adrenaline and fear.

"Gordon," she spoke quieter, "I don't want to be alone" she managed to speak before suddenly falling to the ground. Knees brought up to her chest and her hands on her chest clenching it. He quickly was down with her and wrapped his arms around her. That's when the coughing started. He quickly backed off not wanting to hurt her at this point.

He placed his forehead against hers, both with their eyes closed savoring the moment. It was an intimate moment, no words needed to be said but it was heard by both. He felt her shivering against his forehead and he stroked the sides of her head with his hands. He didn't know how long she was going to be here for. Tentatively she reached up to grab his hand and their fingers intertwined. As if the sound of her breathing wasn't already suffocating enough to him, it grew into a wheeze. Opening her eyes, she brought her other hand up to his face, she felt it with her trembling hand, the warmth, the life. She didn't want to leave him. She could feel it, it wasn't making as much sense anymore, but he did.

Coughs began to erupt again, this time the bright red liquid dripped out and she could taste it even stronger. Breathing was growing harder in every passing second, but she just wanted to stay with him forever.

She stopped as her hands went for her throat as it refused to take in air. It was then on a constant battle for air, it was just out of reach. Just enough to tease her though. Gordon could only watch as now her eyes weren't here with him, but somewhere else. He struggled to control himself at the sight in front of him as tears began to freely flow. He wanted to hold her, but he didn't want to hurt her, so he placed his hand on her knee and hoped she knew he was there. These moments would haunt him. The noise was enough indication to tell what was going on.

He didn't know what happened, but later he found himself with his head in her lap and their hands together. He could tell his face was stained from tears and that it was over.

There were more footsteps heard again and he stood up and held her in his arms. He wasn't leaving her and he started to run with her still cradled in his arms.

* * *

I'd love critiques on what doesnt work and works here or anything. It's greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading this!


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